A Roman celebration quietly cancelled

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 01, 2026

When Pope Benedict XVI announced his plan to resign, a story circulated that he had made his decision because he realized his declining physical condition would not allow him to travel to World Youth Day again. Whether true or false, that rumor saddened me (as did the resignation).

Where is it written—in the New Testament, or the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or the Code of Canon Law—that the Roman Pontiff must attend World Youth Day? Where is it written that there must be a World Youth Day?

That question arose in my mind today, not only because I am writing on a day dedicated to April Fools, but also because the Vatican Dicastery for Laity Family and Life has quietly released an announcement that this year’s celebrated of World Children’s Day, scheduled to take place September 25 to 27 in Rome, will instead take place…never.

This would only have been the second worldwide observance of World Children’s Day, an event inaugurated by Pope Francis in 2024. And the Vatican announcement allowed that individual dioceses remained free to organize their own observances: “All initiatives aimed at the pastoral care of children may be celebrated, at the discretion of the Ordinaries, at a diocesan or parish level and with the involvement of families, the proper place for the human and spiritual growth of every child.” (Take note of the final phrase in that sentence.) But the Vatican would bow out of the business.

And “business” it was. Pope Francis had created a new pontifical committee to organize World Children’s Day. That committee would have a built-in incentive to plan a big celebration, drawing on the resources of the Church and the zeal of the faithful to create a magnificent spectacle, underlining the importance of children. And who among us will deny the importance of children?

World Youth Day is undoubtedly the biggest business among the many “days” now written into the Vatican calendar. There are logos to be designed, celebrity appearances to be arranged, invitations and tickets to be printed, venues to be secured. Tens of thousands of people flock to Rome (or whatever city is chosen), and since a pilgrim is at least in part also a tourist, local merchants expect a boom in the hospitality industry.

But what profit does all this activity generate, as measured in the spiritual economy? Maybe because I do not particularly enjoy travel, and avoid large crowds whenever possible, I have always been skeptical about these events. I do not question the right of any group—whether it is young people or dockworkers or tax accountants—to gather for a spiritual retreat or a Communion breakfast, hosted by a parish or diocese. But why schedule a special event on the international scale?

Perhaps after asking similar questions, in February Pope Leo XIV quietly dissolved the pontifical committee for World Children’s Day, handing off its responsibilities to the Dicastery for Laity Family and Life. Then last week that dicastery let the other shoe drop, cancelling the event.

Might some of the other special “days” organized by the Vatican suffer a similar fate? I hope so. But with World Children’s Day the case for cancellation was unusually strong. Bringing tens of thousands of children to Rome would require bringing tens of thousands of families to Rome, since children should not ordinarily travel without their parents. (And remember, there already was a World Day for Families.)

Still more important, as the Vatican announcement observed, it is the family—not some worldwide organization, however nobly inspired, and not some biennial event, planned by bureaucrats in Rome—that should furnish the spiritual formation of children. The Church should be helping families to live happily together in their homes, not to rush off to Rome for new ideas. Now I wonder: could the same logic apply to World Youth Day?